User interface for searching content of a communication platform using reaction icons

ABSTRACT

A user interface comprising at least a set of reaction icons configured to initiate a search of content of a communication platform is described. In an example, at least the set of reaction icons can be presented via the user interface of the communication platform, wherein individual reaction icons of the set of reaction icons are selectable as search parameters in the user interface. In response to receiving a selection of at least one reaction icon, a search for content, associated with the at least one reaction icon, stored in a database associated with the communication platform can be initiated.

TECHNICAL FIELD

A communication platform can leverage a network-based computing systemto enable users to exchange data. In an example, users of thecommunication platform can communicate with other users via channels,direct messages, and/or other virtual spaces. A channel, direct message,and/or other virtual space can be a data route used for exchanging databetween and among systems and devices associated with the communicationplatform. For example, a channel may be established between and amongvarious user computing devices (e.g., clients), allowing the usercomputing devices to communicate and share data between and among eachother over one or more networks. That is, in some examples, thecommunication platform can be a channel-based platform and/or hub forfacilitating communication between and among users. In some examples,data associated with a channel, a direct message, and/or other virtualspace can be presented via a user interface. In some examples, the userinterface can present a data feed indicating messages posted to and/oractions taken with respect to a particular channel, direct message,and/or other virtual space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical components or features. The figures are not drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment for performing techniquesdescribed herein.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example user interface associated with acommunication platform, as described herein, wherein the user interfaceincludes an affordance to initiate a search of content associated withthe communication platform.

FIG. 2B illustrates another example of the user interface of FIG. 2A,wherein the user interface presents at least one set of reaction iconsthat are selectable to initiate the search using a reaction icon as asearch parameter.

FIG. 2C illustrates another example of the user interface of FIG. 2A,wherein the user interface presents at least one set of reaction iconsthat are selectable to initiate the search using a reaction icon as asearch parameter.

FIG. 2D illustrates another example of the user interface of FIG. 2A,wherein the user interface presents one or more search results based atleast in part on a selected reaction icon.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process for determining a set of reactionicons that are selectable via a user interface to initiate a search ofcontent exchanged via a communication platform, as described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process for determining a set of reactionicons based at least in part on interaction data associated with contentexchanged via a communication platform, as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This application relates to a user interface that is configured topresent set(s) of reaction icons (e.g., emojis, reactjis, and/or thelike) to facilitate a search of content associated with a communicationplatform. The communication platform, which, in some examples can be agroup-based communication platform, a channel-based communicationplatform, a permission-based communication platform, a channel-basedmessaging platform, and/or any other platform for facilitatingcommunication between and among users, can enable users to exchangemessages and/or other data via the communication platform. In anexample, the communication platform can curate set(s) of reaction iconsfor individual users, groups of users, and/or the like based at least inpart on interaction data associated with content of the communicationplatform. In some examples, at least one of recency of interaction withindividual reaction icon(s), frequency of interaction with individualreaction icon(s), and/or the like can be determined based at least inpart on the interaction data and such recency of interaction withindividual reaction icon(s), frequency of interaction with individualreaction icon(s), and/or the like can be used to curate the set(s) ofreaction icons. In at least one example, individual reaction icon(s) ina set of reaction icons can be selectable as search parameter(s). Thatis, in at least one example, selection of a reaction icon can trigger asearch for content, stored in a database of the communication platform,that is associated with the selected reaction icon. The communicationplatform can return a result with identified content.

A “message,” as used herein, can refer to any electronically generateddigital object provided by a user of the communication platform. Amessage can be configured for presentation within a channel, a directmessage, and/or another virtual space as described herein. In at leastone example, a message can be associated with message content, which caninclude text data, image data, video data, audio data, file(s), etc. Insome examples, one or more users of the communication platform caninteract with a message, for example, by associating a reaction icon(e.g., an emoji, a reactji, or the like) with the message. In someexamples, one or more users of the communication platform can interactwith a message by replying to the message. In some examples, a reply canbe posted to a feed associated with a channel, direct message, or othervirtual space. In other examples, a reply can comprise a new message ina “thread.” A thread can be a message associated with another messagethat is not posted to a channel, direct message, or other virtual space,but instead is maintained within an object associated with the originalmessage. Messages and associated reactions (e.g., reaction icon(s)and/or reply(s)) can be stored in a datastore of the communicationplatform as “content” of the communication platform.

In at least one example, the content of the communication platform, canbe searchable, for example by term (e.g., key word), reaction icon,user, date, virtual space, and/or the like. That is, in at least oneexample, the communication platform can provide an affordance via a userinterface to enable a user to search content of the communicationplatform via one or more search parameters. Such an affordance canenable a user to designate the one or more search parameters, which canbe term(s), reaction icon(s), user(s), date(s), virtual space(s), and/orthe like. In response to receiving a search request associated with oneor more search parameters, the communication platform can perform asearch of a datastore associated with the communication platform. Thedatastore can store content, as described above. Based at least in parton identifying one or more items of content that satisfy the searchparameters, the communication platform can return one or more searchresults.

In at least one example, techniques described herein relate todetermining set(s) of reaction icons to present via a user interface toenable a user to search by reaction icon(s). That is, the communicationplatform can curate set(s) of one or more reaction icons that can bepresented via a user interface for facilitating a search. Set(s) ofreaction icons can be determined based at least in part on frequency ofinteraction with individual reaction icons, recency of interaction withindividual reaction icons, and/or the like. In some examples, a set ofreactions icons, which can comprise one or more reaction icons, can beparticular to a user, a group of users, or the communication platform,generally. In at least one example, a reaction icon can comprise asearch parameter such that upon receiving a search request associatedwith the reaction icon, the communication platform can perform a searchfor content associated with the communication platform that isassociated with the reaction icon. If content associated with thecommunication platform is identified, the communication platform canreturn such content as a search result.

Techniques described herein can be helpful for easily retrieving contentassociated with the communication platform. For example, a user candesire to recall a message posted to a channel where other users reactedwith a particular reaction icon (e.g., a dancing chicken reactji). Inexisting techniques a user can search via a term, a user, a date, avirtual space, or the like, but the user may not recall a term, user,date, virtual space, or the like associated with the message. The usermay recall how people reacted (e.g., using a dancing chicken reactji).In some existing techniques, if a user knows how a particular reactionicon is named or defined, the user could input the name or definition ofthe particular reaction icon (e.g., :dancing chicken:) into the searchaffordance. However, if a user does not know how a particular reactionicon is named or defined, the user may be left without a mechanism toretrieve the content. As such, techniques described herein offer animprovement to existing search technology.

As described above, techniques described herein utilize interaction dataassociated with content exchanged via the communication platform todetermine set(s) of reaction icons that are relevant to a particularuser. As described above, at least one set of reaction icons can bedetermined based at least in part on frequency and/or recency ofinteraction with particular reaction icons, for example, by the user ora group of users with which the user may be similar to or otherwiserelated. As such, the communication platform can cause set(s) ofreaction icons to be presented via a user interface, that are in someexamples relevant or otherwise personalized for a user, to enable theuser to select or otherwise set search parameters for a search.

Techniques described herein offer improvements over existing searchtechnologies by improving user interfaces used to facilitate searches,reducing the number of interactions required to retrieve content, and/orstreamlining user interaction with user interfaces. That is, bypresenting an affordance for a user to designate search parameters viaan interaction with set(s) of reaction icons, techniques describedherein provide a more user-friendly mechanism to initiate a search. Asdescribed herein, the set(s) of reaction icons can be determined to berelevant to a particular user and thus can narrow, at least initially,the search parameters presented for the user for selection. Further, bypresenting an affordance for a user to designate search parameters viaan interaction with set(s) of reaction icons, techniques describedherein eliminate the need for a user to recall a term, user, virtualspace, date, reaction icon name and/or definition, and/or the like. Assuch, search queries can be more accurate and/or precise, therebyreducing the number of interactions required to retrieve content via asearch. This can conserve bandwidth and computing resources. Moreover,by determining and/or presenting relevant information, users need notnavigate through various search parameter possibilities and searchresults can be more accurate and/or precise (due to search queries beingmore accurate and/or precise). As such, techniques described hereinoffer improvements over conventional search technologies.

Additional or alternative benefits offered by techniques describedherein are described herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 for performing techniquesdescribed herein. In at least one example, the example environment 100can include one or more server computing devices (or “server(s)”) 102.In at least one example, the server(s) 102 can include one or moreservers or other types of computing devices that can be embodied in anynumber of ways. For example, in the case of a server, the functionalcomponents and data can be implemented on a single server, a cluster ofservers, a server farm or data center, a cloud-hosted computing service,a cloud-hosted storage service, and so forth, although other computerarchitectures can additionally or alternatively be used.

In at least one example, the server(s) 102 can be associated with acommunication platform that can leverage a network-based computingsystem to enable users of the communication platform to exchange data.In at least one example, the communication platform can be “group-based”such that the platform, and associated systems, channels, messages,and/or virtual spaces, have security (that can be defined bypermissions) to limit access to defined groups of users, such a definedgroup of users having, for instance, sole access to a given channel,message, and/or virtual space. In some examples, such groups of userscan be defined by identifiers, which can be associated with commonaccess credentials, domains, or the like. In some examples, thecommunication platform can be a hub, offering a secure and privatevirtual space to enable users to chat, meet, call, collaborate, transferfiles or other data, message, or otherwise communicate between or amongeach other, within secure and private virtual spaces, such aschannel(s), direct message(s), board(s), and/or the like.

In some examples, each group can be associated with an organization,which can be associated with an organization identifier. Usersassociated with the organization identifier can chat, meet, call,collaborate, transfer files or other data, message, or otherwisecommunicate between or among each other in a secure and private virtualspace available via the communication platform. In some examples, eachgroup can be associated with a workspace, associated with a workspaceidentifier. Users associated with the workspace identifier can chat,meet, call, collaborate, transfer files or other data, message, orotherwise communicate between or among each other in a secure andprivate virtual space available via the communication platform. In someexamples, a group can be associated with multiple organizations and/orworkspaces. In some examples, an organization can be associated withmultiple workspaces or a workspace can be associated with multipleorganizations.

In at least one example, the server(s) 102 can communicate with a usercomputing device 104 via one or more network(s) 106. That is, theserver(s) 102 and the user computing device 104 can transmit, receive,and/or store data (e.g., content, messages, and/or the like) using thenetwork(s) 106, as described herein. In some examples, the usercomputing device 104 can comprise a “client” associated with a user. Theuser computing device 104 can be any suitable type of computing device,e.g., portable, semi-portable, semi-stationary, or stationary. Someexamples of the user computing device 104 can include a tablet computingdevice, a smart phone, a mobile communication device, a laptop, anetbook, a desktop computing device, a terminal computing device, awearable computing device, an augmented reality device, an Internet ofThings (IOT) device, or any other computing device capable of sendingcommunications and performing the functions according to the techniquesdescribed herein. While a single user computing device 104 is shown, inpractice, the example environment 100 can include multiple (e.g., tensof, hundreds of, thousands of, millions of) user computing devices. Inat least one example, user computing devices, such as the user computingdevice 104, can be operable by users to, among other things, accesscommunication services via the communication platform. A user can be anindividual, a group of individuals, an employer, an enterprise, anorganization, or the like. In some examples, users can be associatedwith designated roles (e.g., based at least in part on an organizationchart) and/or types (e.g., administrator, verified, etc.).

The network(s) 106 can include, but are not limited to, any type ofnetwork known in the art, such as a local area network or a wide areanetwork, the Internet, a wireless network, a cellular network, a localwireless network, Wi-Fi and/or close-range wireless communications,Bluetooth®, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Near Field Communication (NFC),a wired network, or any other such network, or any combination thereof.Components used for such communications can depend at least in part uponthe type of network, the environment selected, or both. Protocols forcommunicating over such network(s) 106 are well known and are notdiscussed herein in detail.

In at least one example, the server(s) 102 can include one or moreprocessors 108, computer-readable media 110, one or more communicationinterfaces 112, and input/output devices 114.

In at least one example, each processor of the processor(s) 108 can be asingle processing unit or multiple processing units, and can includesingle or multiple computing units or multiple processing cores. Theprocessor(s) 108 can be implemented as one or more microprocessors,microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, centralprocessing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), statemachines, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate signalsbased on operational instructions. For example, the processor(s) 108 canbe one or more hardware processors and/or logic circuits of any suitabletype specifically programmed or configured to execute the algorithms andprocesses described herein. The processor(s) 108 can be configured tofetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in thecomputer-readable media, which can program the processor(s) to performthe functions described herein.

The computer-readable media 110 can include volatile, nonvolatile,removable, and/or non-removable memory or other media implemented in anytype of technology for storage of data, such as computer-readableinstructions, messages, program modules, or other data. Suchcomputer-readable media 110 can include, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, optical storage,solid state storage, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, RAID storagesystems, storage arrays, network attached storage, storage areanetworks, cloud storage, or any other medium that can be used to storethe desired data and that can be accessed by a computing device.Depending on the configuration of the server(s) 102, thecomputer-readable media 110 can be a type of computer-readable storagemedia and/or can be a tangible non-transitory media to the extent thatwhen mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable media exclude mediasuch as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals perse.

The computer-readable media 110 can be used to store any number offunctional components that are executable by the processor(s) 108. Inmany implementations, these functional components comprise instructionsor programs that are executable by the processor(s) 108 and that, whenexecuted, specifically configure the processor(s) 108 to perform theactions attributed above to the server(s) 102. Functional componentsstored in the computer-readable media can optionally include a searchcomponent 116, a channel management component 118, a direct messagemanagement component 119, an operating system 120, and a datastore 122.

In at least one example, the search component 116 can facilitatesearches of content associated with the communication platform. Asdescribed above, in at least one example, the content of thecommunication platform, can be searchable, for example by one or moresearch parameters. A search parameter can comprise a term (e.g., keyword), reaction icon, user, date, virtual space, and/or the like. Insome examples, a search request (or “search query”) can be associatedwith one or more search parameters. In at least one example, the searchcomponent 116 can provide an affordance via a user interface to enable auser to search content of the communication platform via one or moresearch parameters. Such an affordance can enable a user to designate theone or more search parameters, which can be term(s), reaction icon(s),user(s), date(s), virtual space(s), and/or the like. In response toreceiving a search request associated with one or more searchparameters, the search component 116 can perform a search of thedatastore 122. In at least one example, based at least in part onidentifying one or more items of content that satisfy the searchparameters, the search component 116 can return one or more searchresults. The one or more search results can be presented via a userinterface of the communication platform. In at least one example, if noitems of content satisfy the search parameters, the search component 116can return an indication that there are no search results.

In at least one example, the search component 116 can determine set(s)of reaction icons to present via a user interface to enable a user tosearch by reaction icon(s). As described above, a set of reaction iconscan comprise one or more reaction icons. Further, as described above, aset of reaction icons can include one or more emojis, reactjis, or thelike. Set(s) of reaction icons can be determined based at least in parton frequency of interaction with individual reaction icons, recency ofinteraction with individual reaction icons, a number of times aparticular reaction icon has been interacted with (e.g., a count),and/or the like. As used herein, “frequency of interaction” can refer toa rate at which a user or group of users interacts with a reaction iconwithin a period of time. As used herein, “recency of interaction” canrefer to an interaction occurring within a period of time comparativelyclose to a present time. For example, an interaction one minute prior topresent time is more recent than an interaction two days prior topresent time. Such metrics (e.g., frequency of interaction, recency ofinteraction, number of interactions, etc.) can be determined based atleast in part on interaction data associated with content of thecommunication platform. Such interaction data, as described above, canindicate how users interact with content of the communication platform(e.g., which emojis and/or reactjis are used for reactions, whether areply is sent, a date and/or time associated with such reactions, usersassociated with such reactions, and/or the like).

In some examples, a set of reactions icons can be particular to a user,a group of users, or the communication platform, generally. That is, inat least one example, a set of reaction icons can be determined based oninteraction data associated with a user and thus can be particular tothe user. In such an example, the set of reaction icons can include oneor more reaction icons that the user most frequently interacts with,most recently interacted with, has interacted with the highest number oftimes, etc. In some examples, such metrics (e.g., frequency, recency,count, etc.) can be used to determine a relevance metric. The searchcomponent 116 can rank reaction icons based at least in part onrelevance metrics and can associate one or more reaction icons with theset based at least in part on the ranking. In some examples, therelevance metric can be determined using a machine-trained model. Such amachine-trained model can be trained using a machine learning mechanism(e.g., supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised, deep, etc.) ontraining data which can include reaction icons, interaction data, andsearch queries associated with selected reaction icons. Themachine-trained model can receive new interaction data and can outputrelevance metrics associated with reaction icons, which can be used forgenerating a set of reaction icons, as described above. That is, in atleast one example, the search component 116 can determine a set ofreaction icons based at least in part on one or more reaction icons thatare associated with relevance metrics that meet or exceed a threshold, anumber of reaction icons that are highest ranking, and/or the like.

In some examples, a set of reaction icons can be determined based oninteraction data associated with a group of users. In such examples, theset of reaction icons can be particular to the group of users. In someexamples, the group of users can be associated with a same groupidentifier (and thus the same workspace and/or organization) as theuser, share one or more characteristics with the user (e.g., same role,same geographic area, same age, same preference, etc.), a similaritymetric that satisfies a threshold, and/or the like. In at least oneexample, the set of reaction icons can include one or more reactionicons that users associated with the group of users most frequentlyinteract with, most recently interacted with, have interacted with thehighest number of times, etc. In some examples, such metrics (e.g.,frequency, recency, count, etc.) can be used to determine a relevancemetric. The search component 116 can rank reaction icons based at leastin part on relevance metrics and can associate one or more reactionicons with the set based at least in part on the ranking.

In some examples, a set of reaction icons can be determined based oninteraction data associated with the communication platform, and thuscan be representative of all users of the communication platform. Insuch examples, the set of reaction icons can include one or morereaction icons that users associated with the communication platformmost frequently interact with, most recently interacted with, haveinteracted with the highest number of times, etc. In some examples, suchmetrics (e.g., frequency, recency, count, etc.) can be used to determinea relevance metric. The search component 116 can rank reaction iconsbased at least in part on relevance metrics and can associate one ormore reaction icons with the set based at least in part on the ranking.

In at least one example, a reaction icon presented in association with aset of reaction icons can comprise a search parameter such that uponreceiving a search request associated with the reaction icon, the searchcomponent 116 can perform a search for content associated with thesearch component 116 that is associated with the reaction icon. Ifcontent associated with the search component 116 is identified, thesearch component 116 can return such content as a search result.

In at least one example, the channel management component 118 can managechannels of the communication platform. In at least one example, thecommunication platform can be “channel-based” such that the platform canbe organized into channels having security (that can be defined bypermissions) to limit access to defined groups of users (e.g., membersof the channels). A channel, or virtual space, can be a data route usedfor exchanging data between and among systems and devices associatedwith the communication platform such as, for example, content and/ormessages. In some examples, a channel may be “public,” which may allowany user within a group (e.g., associated with an organizationidentifier, associated with a workspace identifier, etc.) with which thechannel is associated to join and participate in the data sharingthrough the channel. In some examples, a channel may be “private,” whichmay restrict data communications in the channel to certain users orusers having particular roles (e.g., managers, administrators, etc.)and/or types (e.g., verified, administrator, etc.). In some examples, achannel may be an “announcement” channel, which may restrictcommunication in the channel to announcements or may otherwise beassociated with announcements instead of other more granular topics ofother channels.

In at least one example, a channel can be associated with a definedgroup of users within the same organization. Such a channel can be an“internal channel” or an “internally shared channel.” In some examples,a channel may be “shared” or “externally shared,” which may allow usersassociated with two or more different groups (e.g., entities associatedwith two or more different organization and/or workspace identifiers) tojoin and participate in the data sharing through the channel. A sharedchannel may be public such that it is accessible to any user of groupsassociated with the shared channel, or may be private such that it isrestricted to access by certain users or users having particular rolesand/or types. A “shared channel” or an “externally shared channel” canenable two or more organizations, such as a first organization and asecond organization to share data, exchange communications, and the like(hence, a “shared” channel or an “externally shared channel” can referto a channel which is accessible across different organizations, whereasan “internal channel” can refer to a communication channel which isaccessible within a same organization). In an example, the firstorganization and the second organization can be associated withdifferent organization identifiers, can be associated with differentbusiness entities, have different tax identification numbers, and/orotherwise can be associated with different permissions such that usersassociated with the first organization and users associated with thesecond organization are not able to access data associated with theother organization, without the establishment of an externally sharedchannel. In some examples, a shared channel can be shared with one ormore different workspaces and/or organizations that, without having ashared channel, would not otherwise have access to each other's data bythe nature of the permission-based and/or group-based configuration ofthe communication platform described herein.

In at least one example, the channel management component 118 canreceive a request to generate a channel. In some examples, the requestcan include a name that is to be associated with the channel, one ormore users to invite to join the channel, and/or permissions associatedwith the channel. In at least one example, one or more user identifiersassociated with one or more users and/or one or more user accounts canbe mapped to, or otherwise associated with, a channel (e.g., a channelidentifier associated therewith). User(s) associated with a channel canbe “members” of the channel. Members of a channel can communicate withother members via the channel. That is, in at least one example, thechannel management component 118 can establish a channel between andamong various user computing devices associated with user identifiersassociated with the channel, allowing the user computing devices tocommunicate and share data between and among each other. As describedherein, in some examples, such communication and/or sharing of data canbe via one or more messages that can be exchanged via a channel. In atleast one example, the channel management component 118 can manage suchcommunications and/or sharing of data. In some examples, data associatedwith a channel can be presented via a user interface.

As described above, in at least one example, one or more permissions canbe mapped to, or otherwise associated with, a channel and/or membersassociated therewith. Such permission(s) can indicate which user(s) havepermission to access the channel, actions and/or messages permitted inthe channel, which user(s) and/or type(s) of users are permitted to addor remove members, which user(s) and/or types of users are permitted toshare the channel with other users, a retention policy associated withdata in the channel, whether the channel is public or private, or thelike.

In at least one example, the direct message management component 119 canmanage “direct messages,” which can comprise communications withindividual users or multiple specified users (e.g., instead of all, or asubset of, members of an organization). In at least one example, a“direct message” can comprise a data route, or virtual space, used forexchanging data between and among systems and devices associated withthe communication platform (e.g., content and/or messages). In someexamples, a direct message can be a private message between two or moreusers of the communication platform. In some examples, a direct messagemay be “shared,” which may allow users associated with two or moredifferent groups (e.g., entities associated with two or more differentorganization and/or workspace identifiers) to join and participate inthe data sharing through the direct message.

In at least one example, the direct message management component 119 canreceive a request to generate a direct message. In some examples, therequest can include identifiers associated with one or more users thatare intended recipient(s) (e.g., recipient user(s)) of the directmessage. In at least one example, one or more user identifiersassociated with one or more users and/or one or more user accounts canbe mapped to, or otherwise associated with, a direct message (e.g., ordirect message identifier associated therewith). User(s) associated witha direct message can communicate with one another and/or otherwise sharedata with one another via the direct message. As described herein, insome examples, such communication and/or sharing of data can be via oneor more messages that can be exchanged via the direct message. In atleast one example, the direct message management component 119 canmanage such communications and/or sharing of data. In some examples,data associated with a direct message can be presented via a userinterface.

In at least one example, the operating system 120 can manage theprocessor(s) 108, computer-readable media 110, hardware, software, etc.of the server(s) 102.

In at least one example, the datastore 122 can be configured to storedata that is accessible, manageable, and updatable. In some examples,the datastore 122 can be integrated with the server(s) 102, as shown inFIG. 1 . In other examples, the datastore 122 can be located remotelyfrom the server(s) 102 and can be accessible to the server(s) 102 and/oruser device(s), such as the user device 104. The datastore 122 cancomprise one or multiple databases, which can include user data 124,permission data 125, channel data 126, direct message (DM) data 128,content data 129, and reaction icon(s) 130. Additional or alternativedata may be stored in the datastore and/or one or more other datastores.

In at least one example, the user data 124 can store data associatedwith users of the communication platform. In at least one example, theuser data 124 can store data in user profiles (which can also bereferred to as “user accounts”). In some examples, a user can beassociated with a single user profile. In some examples, a user can beassociated with multiple user profiles. A user profile can store dataassociated with a user, including, but not limited to, one or more useridentifiers associated with multiple, different organizations, groups,or entities with which the user is associated, one or more groupidentifiers for groups (or, organizations, teams, entities, or the like)with which the user is associated, one or more channel identifiersassociated with channels to which the user has been granted access, anindication whether the user is an owner or manager of any channels, anindication whether the user has any channel restrictions, one or moredirect message identifiers associated with direct messages with whichthe user is associated, one or more board identifiers associated withboards with which the user is associated, one or more meetings withwhich the user is associated, a plurality of messages, a plurality ofemojis, a plurality of conversations, a plurality of conversationtopics, an avatar, an email address, a real name (e.g., John Doe), ausername (e.g., j doe), a password, a role, a preference, a time zone, astatus, and the like.

In at least one example, the permission data 125 can store dataassociated with permissions of individual users of the communicationplatform. In some examples, permissions can be set automatically or byan administrator of the communication platform, an employer, enterprise,organization, or other entity that utilizes the communication platform,a team leader, a group leader, or other entity that utilizes thecommunication platform for communicating with team members, groupmembers, or the like, an individual user, or the like. In some examples,permissions associated with an individual user can be mapped to, orotherwise associated with, a profile and/or account associated with theuser data 124. In some examples, permissions can indicate which userscan communicate directly with other users, which channels a user ispermitted to access, restrictions on individual channels, whichworkspaces the user is permitted to access, restrictions on individualworkspaces, and the like. In at least one example, the permissions cansupport the communication platform by maintaining security for limitingaccess to a defined group of users. In some examples, such users can bedefined by common access credentials, group identifiers, or the like, asdescribed above.

In some examples, the permission data 125 can store data associated withpermissions of groups associated with the communication platform. Insome examples, permissions can be set automatically or by anadministrator of the communication platform, an employer, enterprise,organization, or other entity that utilizes the communication platform,a team leader, a group leader, or other entity that utilizes thecommunication platform for communicating with team members, groupmembers, or the like, an individual user, or the like. In some examples,permissions associated with a group can be mapped to, or otherwiseassociated with, data associated with the group. In some examples,permissions can indicate restrictions on individual groups, restrictionson channel(s) associated with individual groups, restrictions on user(s)associated with individual groups, and the like. In at least oneexample, the permissions can support the communication platform bymaintaining security for limiting access to a defined group of users. Insome examples, such groups can be defined by common access credentials,group identifiers, or the like, as described above.

In some examples, the permission data 125 can store data associated withpermissions of individual channels. In some examples, permissions can beset automatically or by an administrator of the communication platform,an employer, enterprise, organization, or other entity that utilizes thecommunication platform, a team leader, a group leader, or other entitythat utilizes the communication platform for communicating with teammembers, group members, or the like, an individual user, or the like. Insome examples, permissions associated with a channel can be mapped to,or otherwise associated with, data associated with the channel in thechannel data 126. In some examples, permissions can indicaterestrictions on individual channels, restrictions on user(s) associatedwith individual channels, and the like.

In some examples, the permission data 125 can store data associated withpermissions of individual messages or other objects. In some examples,permissions can be set automatically or by an administrator of thecommunication platform, an employer, enterprise, organization, or otherentity that utilizes the communication platform, a team leader, a groupleader, or other entity that utilizes the communication platform forcommunicating with team members, group members, or the like, anindividual user (e.g., the originator of the message), or the like. Insome examples, permissions associated with a message or other object canbe mapped to, or otherwise associated with, data associated with themessage or other object. In some examples, permissions can indicateviewing permissions, access permissions, editing permissions, etc.

In at least one example, the channel data 126 can store data associatedwith individual channels. In at least one example, the channelmanagement component 118 can establish a channel between and amongvarious user computing devices, allowing the user computing devices tocommunicate and share data between and among each other. In at least oneexample, a channel identifier may be assigned to a channel, whichindicates the physical address in the channel data 126 where datarelated to that channel is stored. Individual messages or other objectsposted to a channel can be stored in association with the channel data126.

In at least one example, the DM data 128 can store data associated withindividual direct messages. In at least one example, the direct messagemanagement component 119 can establish a direct message between andamong various user computing devices, allowing the user computingdevices to communicate and share data between and among each other viathe direct message. In at least one example, a direct message identifiermay be assigned to a direct message, which indicates the physicaladdress in the DM data 128 where data related to that direct message isstored. Individual messages or other objects posted to a direct messagecan be stored in association with the DM data 128.

In at least one example, content data 129 can comprise content posted tochannels, direct messages, and/or other virtual spaces. Content data 129can include text content, audio content, visual content (e.g., imagecontent and/or video content), combinations of the foregoing, etc. In atleast one example, content stored in the content data 129 can beassociated with a creator identifier (e.g., a user who created thecontent), a thread identifier (e.g., which thread the content isassociated with), a message identifier (e.g., which message the contentis associated with), a virtual space identifier (e.g., virtual space(s)with which the content is associated with and/or accessible by), etc.Interactions associated with content can also be stored in associationwith the content in the content data 129. That is, replies, reactionicons (e.g., emoji(s), reactji(s), etc.), etc. associated withindividual content can be stored in association with the content. Insome examples, content can be mapped to, or otherwise associated with,individual users, messages, meetings, channels, direct messages, and/orthe like.

In at least one example, the datastore 122 can store one or morereaction icon(s) 130 or indications thereof. In at least one example, areaction icon can comprise an icon representative of an emotion or areaction. Examples of reaction icons include emojis and/or reactjis. Insome examples, each reaction icon can be associated with a name and/ordefinition such that when the name and/or definition of a particularreaction icon is identified in data associated with the communicationplatform, a component of the communication platform can retrieveinstructions for presenting the reaction icon via a user interface. Thatis, the name and/or definition of the reaction icon can be used tounfurl the reaction icon in data presented via a user interface of thecommunication platform. In some examples, reaction icons can be namedand/or defined by the communication platform (e.g., a programmerassociated therewith). In some examples, reaction icons can be namedand/or defined by a user of the communication platform. In someexamples, the user can be a programmer for a group or organization.

In some examples, interaction data associated with individual reactionicon(s) can be stored in association therewith. Such interaction datacan indicate a count of the number of times a particular reaction iconhas been used, which users have used the particular reaction icon, datesand/or times associated with the particular reaction icon was used, etc.In some examples, such interaction data can be used to determine arecency of interaction with a particular reaction icon (e.g., the mostrecent date and/or time the particular reaction icon was used by a user,a group of users, users of the communication platform), a frequency ofinteraction (e.g., how frequently a particular reaction is used by auser, a group of users, users of the communication platform), and/or thelike, which can be stored in association with the reaction icon(s) 130in the datastore 122.

The datastore 122 can store additional or alternative types of data,which can include, but is not limited to board data (e.g., data postedto or otherwise associated with boards of the communication platform),interaction data (e.g., data associated with additional or alternativeinteractions with the communication platform), model(s), etc.

In some examples, the datastore 122 can be partitioned into discreteitems of data that may be accessed and managed individually (e.g., datashards). Data shards can simplify many technical tasks, such as dataretention, unfurling (e.g., detecting that message contents include alink, crawling the link's metadata, and determining a uniform summary ofthe metadata), and integration settings. In some examples, data shardscan be associated with groups (e.g., organizations, workspaces),channels, direct messages, users, or the like.

In some examples, individual groups can be associated with a databaseshard within the datastore 122 that stores data related to a particulargroup identification. For example, a database shard may store electroniccommunication data associated with members of a particular group, whichenables members of that particular group to communicate and exchangedata with other members of the same group in real time or near-realtime. In this example, the group itself can be the owner of the databaseshard and has control over where and how the related data is storedand/or accessed. In some examples, a database shard can store datarelated to two or more groups (e.g., as in a shared channel, such as anexternally shared channel).

In some examples, a channel can be associated with a database shardwithin the datastore 122 that stores data related to a particularchannel identification. For example, a database shard may storeelectronic communication data associated with the channel, which enablesmembers of that particular channel to communicate and exchange data withother members of the same channel in real time or near-real time. Inthis example, a group or organization can be the owner of the databaseshard and can control where and how the related data is stored and/oraccessed.

In some examples, a direct message can be associated with a databaseshard within the datastore 122 that stores data related to a particulardirect message identification. For example, a database shard may storeelectronic communication data associated with the direct message, whichenables a user associated with a particular direct message tocommunicate and exchange data with other users associated with the samedirect message in real time or near-real time. In this example, a groupor organization can be the owner of the database shard and can controlwhere and how the related data is stored and/or accessed.

In some examples, individual users can be associated with a databaseshard within the datastore 122 that stores data related to a particularuser account. For example, a database shard may store electroniccommunication data associated with an individual user, which enables theuser to communicate and exchange data with other users of thecommunication platform in real time or near-real time. In some examples,the user itself can be the owner of the database shard and has controlover where and how the related data is stored and/or accessed.

The communication interface(s) 112 can include one or more interfacesand hardware components for enabling communication with various otherdevices (e.g., the user computing device 104), such as over thenetwork(s) 106 or directly. In some examples, the communicationinterface(s) 112 can facilitate communication via Web sockets,Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) (e.g., using API calls), HyperText Transfer Protocols (HTTPs), etc.

The server(s) 102 can further be equipped with various input/outputdevices 114 (e.g., I/O devices). Such I/O devices 114 can include adisplay, various user interface controls (e.g., buttons, joystick,keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc.), audio speakers, connection portsand so forth.

In at least one example, the user computing device 104 can include oneor more processors 132, computer-readable media 134, one or morecommunication interfaces 136, and input/output devices 138.

In at least one example, each processor of the processor(s) 132 can be asingle processing unit or multiple processing units, and can includesingle or multiple computing units or multiple processing cores. Theprocessor(s) 132 can comprise any of the types of processors describedabove with reference to the processor(s) 108 and may be the same as ordifferent than the processor(s) 108.

The computer-readable media 134 can comprise any of the types ofcomputer-readable media 134 described above with reference to thecomputer-readable media 110 and may be the same as or different than thecomputer-readable media 110. Functional components stored in thecomputer-readable media can optionally include at least one application140 and an operating system 142.

In at least one example, the application 140 can be a mobileapplication, a web application, or a desktop application, which can beprovided by the communication platform or which can be an otherwisededicated application. In at least one example, the application 140 canbe a native application associated with the communication platform. Insome examples, individual user computing devices associated with theenvironment 100 can have an instance or versioned instance of theapplication 140, which can be downloaded from an application store,accessible via the Internet, or otherwise executable by the processor(s)132 to perform operations as described herein. That is, the application140 can be an access point, enabling the user computing device 104 tointeract with the server(s) 102 to access and/or use communicationservices available via the communication platform. In at least oneexample, the application 140 can facilitate the exchange of data betweenand among various other user computing devices, for example via theserver(s) 102. In at least one example, the application 140 can presentuser interfaces, as described herein. In at least one example, a usercan interact with the user interfaces via touch input, keyboard input,mouse input, spoken input, or any other type of input. Additional oralternative access points, such as a web browser, can be used to enablethe user computing device 104 to interact with the server(s) 102 asdescribed herein. That is, in examples where the application 140 isdescribed as performing an operation below, in an additional oralternative example, such an operation can be performed by anotheraccess point, such as a web browser or the like.

In at least one example, the user computing device 104 can correspond toa “client” of a user. In some examples, the user computing device 104can be associated with multiple “clients,” in which case, each instanceof an application or other access point can be its own client. Forexample, a user can be signed into a first client (e.g., the application140) and a second client (e.g., a web browser), both of which can beassociated with the user computing device 104. In another example, theuser can be signed into a first client (e.g., the application 140) and asecond client, each of which can be on separate user computing devices.

As described above, a client, which can be associated with the usercomputing device 104, can present one or more user interfaces. Anon-limiting example of a user interface 144 is shown in FIG. 1 . Asillustrated in FIG. 1 , the user interface 144 can present dataassociated with one or more channels, direct messages, or other virtualspaces. In some examples, the user interface 144 can include a firstsection 146 (e.g., which can be a portion, pane, or other partitionedunit of the user interface 144), that includes user interface element(s)representing data associated with channel(s), direct message(s), etc.with which the user (e.g., account of the user) is associated.Additional details associated with the first section 146 and userinterface element(s) are described below with reference to FIG. 2A.

In at least one example, the user interface 144 can include a secondsection 148 (e.g., which can be a portion, pane, or other partitionedunit of the user interface 144) that can be associated with a data feedindicating messages posted to and/or actions taken with respect to oneor more channels, direct messages, and/or other virtual spaces forfacilitating communications (e.g., a virtual space associated withevent(s) and/or action(s), etc.) as described herein. In at least oneexample, data associated with the second section 148 can be associatedwith the same or different workspaces. That is, in some examples, thesecond section 148 can present data associated with the same ordifferent workspaces via an integrated data feed. In some examples, thedata can be organized and/or is sortable by date, time (e.g., whenassociated data is posted or an associated operation is otherwiseperformed), type of action and/or data, workspace, channel, user, topic,relevance metric, and/or the like. In some examples, such data can beassociated with an indication of which user (e.g., member of thechannel) posted the message and/or performed an action. In exampleswhere the second section 148 presents data associated with multipleworkspaces, at least some data can be associated with an indication ofwhich workspace the data is associated with.

In at least one example, the first section 146 and the second section148, in combination, can be associated with a “group-based communicationuser interface” from which a user can interact with the communicationplatform. Additional details associated with the user interface 144, thefirst section 146, and the second section 148, are described below withreference to FIG. 2A.

In at least one example, the user interface 144 can include a searchmechanism 150 to enable a user to perform a search of content associatedwith the communication platform. As described above, content of thecommunication platform, can be searchable, for example by term (e.g.,key word), reaction icon, user, date, virtual space, and/or the like. Inat least one example, the search component 116 can provide an affordance(e.g., the search mechanism 150) via the user interface 144 to enable auser to search content of the communication platform via one or moresearch parameters. Such an affordance can enable a user to designate theone or more search parameters, which can be term(s), reaction icon(s),user(s), date(s), virtual space(s), and/or the like. In response toreceiving a search request associated with one or more searchparameters, the search component 116 can perform a search of thedatastore 122. The datastore 122 can store content data 129, asdescribed above. Based at least in part on identifying one or more itemsof content that satisfy the search parameters, the search component 116can return one or more search results, as described above.

In at least one example, the search component 116 can determine set(s)of reaction icons to present via the user interface 144 to enable a userto search by reaction icon(s). In FIG. 1 , a first set of reaction icons152 is presented, which is particular to the user. In at least oneexample, the first set of reaction icons 152 can be determined by thesearch component 116 based at least in part on frequency of interactionbetween the user and individual reaction icons, recency of interactionbetween the user and individual reaction icons, and/or the like. In atleast one example, a second set of reaction icons 154 is presented,which is associated with other user(s). That is, in some examples, afirst set of reaction icons can be particular to the user and one ormore other sets of reaction icons can be associated with at least oneother user. In some examples, the second set of reaction icons 154 canbe associated with a group of users that are similar to the user (e.g.,based at least in part on a similarity metric meeting or exceeding athreshold), a group of users with which the user shares a characteristic(e.g., same group identifier, same role, same permission(s), a same setof channels and/or direct messages with which each user is associated,etc.), etc. In some examples, the second set of reaction icons 154 canbe associated with all users of the communication platform. In at leastone example, the user interface 144 can include a user interface element156, which can provide an affordance to enable the user to viewadditional or alternative reaction icons. Any reaction icon—whetherselected from the first set of reaction icons 152, the second set ofreaction icons 154, or additional or alternative reaction iconspresented in response to an actuation of the user interface element156—can be used as a search parameter. In some examples, combinations ofreaction icons can be used as search parameters. As described above, inat least one example, upon receiving a search request associated withthe reaction icon, the search component 116 can perform a search forcontent associated with the communication platform (e.g., as stored inthe content data 129) that is associated with the selected reactionicon. If content associated with the communication platform isidentified, the search component 116 can return such content as a searchresult. Additional details are described below.

In at least one example, the operating system 142 can manage theprocessor(s) 132, computer-readable media 134, hardware, software, etc.of the user computing device 104.

The communication interface(s) 136 can include one or more interfacesand hardware components for enabling communication with various otherdevices (e.g., the user computing device 104), such as over thenetwork(s) 106 or directly. In some examples, the communicationinterface(s) 136 can facilitate communication via Websockets, APIs(e.g., using API calls), HTTPs, etc.

The user computing device 104 can further be equipped with variousinput/output devices 138 (e.g., I/O devices). Such I/O devices 138 caninclude a display, various user interface controls (e.g., buttons,joystick, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, etc.), audio speakers,microphones, cameras, connection ports and so forth.

While techniques described herein are described as being performed bythe search component 116, the channel management component 118, thedirect message management component 119, and the application 140,techniques described herein can be performed by any other component, orcombination of components, which can be associated with the server(s)102, the user computing device 104, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example user interface 200 presented via acommunication platform, as described herein. The user interface 200 cancorrespond to the user interface 144 described above with reference toFIG. 1 . As described above, in some examples, a user interface 200presented via the communication platform can include a first section 202(which can correspond to the first section 146 described above withreference to FIG. 1 ) that includes user interface element(s)representing virtual space(s) associated with the workspace(s) withwhich the user (e.g., account of the user) is associated. In at leastone example, the first section 202 can include one or more sub-sections,which can represent different virtual spaces. For example, a firstsub-section 204 can include user interface elements representing virtualspaces that can aggregate data associated with a plurality of channelsand/or workspaces. In at least one example, each virtual space can beassociated with a user interface element in the first sub-section 204.In some examples, a user interface element can be associated with anactuation mechanism, that when actuated, can cause the application 140to present data associated with the corresponding virtual space via asecond section 206 of the user interface 200 (which can correspond tothe second section 148 described above with reference to FIG. 1 ).

In at least one example, a virtual space can be associated with allunread data associated with each of the workspaces with which the useris associated. That is, in some examples, if the user requests to accessthe virtual space associated with “unreads,” all data that has not beenread (e.g., viewed) by the user can be presented in the second section206, for example in a feed.

In another example, “drafts” can be associated with messages or otherobjects that have not yet been posted to a virtual space or otherwisesent to a receiving entity. In at least one example, a message, whilebeing composed, can be associated with an indicator indicating that themessage is a draft and can therefore be associated with the “drafts”referenced in the second sub-section 208.

In another example, “threads” can be associated with messages, files,etc. posted in threads to messages posted in a channel and/or a virtualspace associated with “mentions and reactions” (e.g., “M & R”) can beassociated with messages or threads where the user (e.g., User F) hasbeen mentioned (e.g., via a tag) or another user has reacted (e.g., viaan emoji, reaction, or the like) to a message or thread posted by theuser.

In some examples, if the first sub-section 204 includes a user interfaceelement representative of a virtual space associated with “snippets ofcontent” (e.g., stories) that is actuated by a user, snippets of contentassociated with the user, which can be associated with differentchannels and/or virtual spaces, can be presented via the second section206. In some examples, such snippets of content can be presented via afeed. For the purpose of this discussion, a snippet of content cancorrespond to audio and/or visual content provided by a user associatedwith the communication platform.

In another example, a virtual space can be associated with “boards” withwhich the user is associated. In at least one example, if the userrequests to access the virtual space associated with “boards,” one ormore boards with which the user is associated can be presented via theuser interface 200 (e.g., in the second section 206). In at least oneexample, boards, as described herein, can be associated with individualgroups and/or communication channels to enable users of thecommunication platform to create, interact with, and/or view dataassociated with such boards. That is, a board, which can be an“electronic board,” can be a virtual space, canvas, page, or the likefor collaborative communication and/or organization within thecommunication platform. In at least one example, a board can supporteditable text and/or objects that can be ordered, added, deleted,modified, and/or the like. In some examples, a board can be associatedwith permissions defining which users of a communication platform canview and/or edit the board. In some examples, a board can be associatedwith a communication channel and at least some members of thecommunication channel can view and/or edit the board. In some examples,a board can be sharable such that data associated with the board isaccessible to and/or interactable for members of the multiplecommunication channels, workspaces, organizations, and/or the like.

In at least one example, a board can include section(s) and/orobject(s). In some examples, each section can include one or moreobjects. In at least one example, an object can be associated with anobject type, which can include, but is not limited to, text (e.g., whichcan be editable), a task, an event, an image, a graphic, a link to alocal object, a link to a remote object, a file, and/or the like. Insome examples, the sections and/or objects can be reordered and/orotherwise rearranged, new sections and/or objects can be added orremoved, and/or data associated with such sections and/or objects can beedited and/or modified. That is, boards can be created and/or modifiedfor various uses. That is, users can customize and/or personalize boardsto serve individual needs as described herein. As an example, sectionsand/or objects can be arranged to create a project board that can beused to generate and/or assign tasks, track progress, and/or otherwisemanage a project. Further, in some examples, boards can present companymetrics and also enable access to company goals so that such data can bestored and/or accessed via a single location. In some examples, boardscan be used to keep track of work progress and/or career growth, whichcan be used by managers or supervisors for managing and/or supervisingemployees, agents, and/or other workers. In at least one example, aboard can be used to track incidents, incoming customer servicerequests, and/or the like. Additional details associated with boards areprovided in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/993,859, filed on Aug.14, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated by referenceherein.

In some examples, data presented via the second section can be organizedand/or is sortable by date, time (e.g., when associated data is postedor an associated operation is otherwise performed), type of actionand/or data, workspace, channel, user, topic, relevance metric, and/orthe like. In some examples, such data can be associated with anindication of which user(s) (e.g., member(s) of a channel) posted amessage, performed an action, and/or the like. Additional details aredescribed below.

In at least one example, the first section 202 of the user interface 200can include a second sub-section 208 that includes user interfaceelements representing channels to which the user (i.e., user profile)has access. In some examples, the channels can include public channels,private channels, shared channels (e.g., between workspaces ororganizations), single workspace channels, cross-workspace channels,announcement channels, combinations of the foregoing, or the like. Insome examples, the channels represented can be associated with a singleworkspace. In some examples, the channels represented can be associatedwith different workspaces (e.g., cross-workspace). In some examples, thechannels represented can be associated with combinations of channelsassociated with a single workspace and channels associated withdifferent workspaces.

In some examples, the second sub-section 208 can depict all channels, ora subset of all channels, that the user has permission to access (e.g.,as determined by the permission data 125). In such examples, thechannels can be arranged alphabetically, based on most recentinteraction, based on frequency of interactions, based on channel type(e.g., public, private, shared, cross-workspace, announcement, etc.),based on workspace, in user-designated sections, or the like. In someexamples, the second sub-section 208 can depict all channels, or asubset of all channels, that the user is a member of, and the user caninteract with the user interface 200 to browse or view other channelsthat the user is not a member of but are not currently displayed in thesecond sub-section 208. In some examples, a new channel, generatedsubsequent to a request received at the channel management component 118in FIG. 1 and accessible to the user, can be added to the secondsub-section 208. The new channel can be generated by the user or addedto the second sub-section 208 in reply to acceptance of an invite sentto the user to join a new channel. In some examples, different types ofchannels (e.g., public, private, shared, etc.) can be in differentsections of the second sub-section 208, or can have their ownsub-sections or subsections in the user interface 200. In some examples,channels associated with different workspaces can be in differentportions of the second sub-section 208, or can have their own sectionsor subsections in the user interface 200.

In some examples, the indicators can be associated with user interfaceelements that visually differentiate types of channels. For example,Channel B is associated with a double square user interface elementinstead of a circle user interface element. As a non-limiting example,and for the purpose of this discussion, the double square user interfaceelement can indicate that the associated channel (e.g., Channel B) is anexternally shared channel. In some examples, such a user interfaceelement can be the same for all externally shared channels. In otherexamples, such a user interface element can be specific to the othergroup with which the externally shared channel is associated. In someexamples, additional or alternative graphical elements can be used todifferentiate between public channels, private channels, sharedchannels, channels associated with different workspaces, and the like.In other examples, channels that the user is not a current member of maynot be displayed in the second sub-section 208 of the user interface200. In such examples, the user may navigate to a different interface(not shown) to browse additional channels that are accessible to theuser but to which the user is not currently a member.

In addition to the second sub-section 208, the first section 202 caninclude a third subsection 210 that can include user interface elementsrepresentative of direct messages. That is, the third subsection 210 caninclude user interface elements representative of virtual spaces thatare associated with private messages between one or more users, asdescribed above.

As described above, in at least one example, the user interface 200 caninclude a second section 206 that can be associated with data associatedwith virtual spaces of the communication platform. In some examples,data presented via the second section 206 can be presented as a feedindicating messages posted to and/or actions taken with respect to achannel and/or other virtual space (e.g., a virtual space associatedwith direct message communication(s), a virtual space associated withevent(s) and/or action(s), etc.) for facilitating communications. Asdescribed above, in at least one example, data associated with thesecond section 206 can be associated with the same or differentworkspaces. That is, in some examples, the second section 206 canpresent data associated with the same or different workspaces via anintegrated feed. In some examples, the data can be organized and/or issortable by date, time (e.g., when associated data is posted or anassociated operation is otherwise performed), type of action and/ordata, workspace, channel, user, topic, relevance metric, and/or thelike. In some examples, such data can be associated with an indicationof which user(s) and/or entity(s) posted the message and/or performed anaction.

A channel, direct message, or other virtual space can be associated withdata and/or content other than messages, or data and/or content that isassociated with messages. For example, non-limiting examples ofadditional data and/or content that can be presented via the secondsection 206 of the user interface 144 include members added to and/orremoved from the channel, file(s) (e.g., file attachment(s)) uploadedand/or removed from the channel, application(s) added to and/or removedfrom the channel, post(s) (data that can be edited collaboratively, innear real-time by one or members of a channel) added to and/or removedfrom the channel, description added to, modified, and/or removed fromthe channel, modifications of properties of the channel, etc.

In some examples, the second section 206 can comprise a feed associatedwith a single channel. In such examples, data associated with thechannel can be presented via the feed. In at least one example, dataassociated with a channel can be viewable to at least some of the usersof a group of users associated with a same group identifier. In someexamples, for members of a channel, the content of the channel (e.g.,messaging communications and/or objects) can be displayed to each memberof the channel. For instance, a common set of group-based messagingcommunications can be displayed to each member of the channel such thatthe content of the channel (e.g., messaging communications and/orobjects) may not vary per member of the channel. In some examples,messaging communications associated with a channel can appeardifferently for different users (e.g., based on personal configurations,group membership, permissions, policies, etc.).

In at least one example, the format of the individual channels orvirtual spaces may appear differently to different users. In someexamples, the format of the individual channels or virtual spaces mayappear differently based on which workspace or organization a user iscurrently interacting with or most recently interacted with. In someexamples, the format of the individual channels or virtual spaces mayappear differently for different users (e.g., based on personalconfigurations, group membership, permission(s), etc.).

In at least one example, the user interface 200 can include a searchmechanism 212, wherein a user can input a search term and the server(s)102 can perform a search associated with the communication platform. Thesearch mechanism 212 can correspond to the search mechanism 150 of FIG.1 . In some examples, the search can be performed across each group withwhich the user is associated, or the search can be restricted to aparticular group, based on a user specification. The search may beperformed with one or more shards associated with each group acrosswhich the search is performed. As described above, a search can beassociated with one or more search parameters, which can be used by thesearch component 116 to determine whether content stored in the contentdata 129 is associated with the search parameter(s). In some examples, asearch parameter can be associated with a reaction icon, as describedabove. In at least one example, the application 140 can detect aninteraction with the search mechanism 212. In at least one example, theapplication 140 can send an indication of the interaction to theserver(s) 102. The search mechanism 116 can cause a search userinterface to be presented via the user interface 200, as illustrated inFIG. 2B.

In FIG. 2A, the user can interact with the user interface element thatcorresponds to Channel D in the second sub-section 208 and as such, afeed associated with the channel can be presented via the second section206 of the user interface. In some examples, the second section 206 canbe associated with a header that includes user interface elements 214representing data associated with Channel D. Furthermore, the secondsection 206 can include user interface elements 216, 218, 219, 220, 221,and 222 which each represent messages posted to the channel (e.g., by auser and/or an application). As illustrated, the user interface elementsrepresentative of the messages 216-222 can include an indication ofuser(s) and/or entity(s) that posted the message, a time when themessage was posted, content associated with the message, reactionsassociated with the message (e.g., emojis, reactjis, etc.), and/or thelike. In at least one example, the second section 206 can include aninput mechanism 222, which can be associated with a composition userinterface to enable a user to compose a message to be posted to thechannel. That is, in at least one example, a user can provide input viathe input mechanism 222 (e.g., type, speak, etc.) to generate a newmessage. In some examples, messages can be generated by applicationsand/or automatically by the communication platform. In some examples,the second section 206 can include user interface elementsrepresentative of other objects and/or data associated with the channel(or other virtual space).

FIG. 2B illustrates an example of the user interface 200, wherein asearch user interface 224 is presented to enable a user to designatesearch parameters associated with a search. As described above, contentof the communication platform, can be searchable, for example by term(e.g., key word), reaction icon, user, date, virtual space, and/or thelike. In at least one example, the search user interface 224 can includeone or more mechanisms to enable a user to designate the one or moresearch parameters, which can be term(s), reaction icon(s), user(s),date(s), virtual space(s), and/or the like. In some examples, the usercan input a search parameter in the search mechanism 212, for examplevia a text input, image input, speech input, or the like. As illustratedin FIG. 2B, the search user interface 224 can include one or more userinterface elements 226 to enable the user to navigate to different typesof search parameters (e.g., term(s) (e.g., key word(s)), reactionicon(s), user(s), date(s), virtual space(s), etc.). As described above,in response to receiving a search request associated with one or moresearch parameters, the search component 116 can perform a search of thedatastore 122 for content associated with the one or more searchparameters. The datastore 122 can store content data 129, as describedabove. Based at least in part on identifying one or more items ofcontent (e.g., in the content data 129) that satisfy the searchparameters, the search component 116 can return one or more searchresults, as described above.

As described above, the search component 116 can determine set(s) ofreaction icons to present via the user interface 200 to enable a user tosearch by reaction icon(s). In FIG. 2B, a first set of reaction icons228, which can correspond to the first set of reaction icons 152 of FIG.1 , is presented, which is particular to the user. In at least oneexample, the first set of reaction icons 228 can be determined by thesearch component 116 based at least in part on frequency of interactionbetween the user and individual reaction icons, recency of interactionbetween the user and individual reaction icons, and/or the like. In atleast one example, a second set of reaction icons 230, which cancorrespond to the second set of reaction icons 154 of FIG. 1 , ispresented, which is associated with other user(s). That is, in someexamples, a first set of reaction icons can be particular to the userand one or more other sets of reaction icons can be associated with atleast one other user.

In some examples, the second set of reaction icons 230 can be associatedwith a group of users that are similar to the user (e.g., based at leastin part on a similarity metric meeting or exceeding a threshold), agroup of users with which the user shares a characteristic (e.g., samegroup identifier, same role, same permission(s), a same set of channelsand/or direct messages with which each user is associated, etc.), etc.In some examples, the second set of reaction icons 230 can be associatedwith all users of the communication platform. In at least one example,the user interface 200 can include an affordance, which can beassociated with a user interface element 232, to enable the user to viewadditional or alternative reaction icons. Interaction with the userinterface element 232 can cause additional or alternative reaction iconsto be presented via the user interface 200. In some examples, theadditional or alternative reaction icons can be arranged based onrelevance to the requesting user, alphabetically, based on topic, and/orthe like. Any reaction icon—whether selected from the first set ofreaction icons 228, the second set of reaction icons 230, or additionalor alternative reaction icons presented in response to an actuation ofthe user interface element 232—can be used as a search parameter. Insome examples, combinations of reaction icons can be used as searchparameters.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, in at least one example, each of the reactionicons can be associated with an actuation mechanism such thatinteraction with a particular reaction icon can indicate that thereaction icon has been selected. That is, the application 140 can detectan input associated with a reaction icon and can associate the selectedreaction icon with a search query as a search parameter. The application140 can send the search query to the server(s) 102 to initiate a search.As described above, in at least one example, upon receiving a searchquery associated with the reaction icon, the search component 116 canperform a search for content associated with the communication platform(e.g., as stored in the content data 129) that is associated with theselected reaction icon. If content associated with the communicationplatform is identified, the search component 116 can return such contentas a search result.

FIG. 2C illustrates another example of the user interface 200, wherein asearch user interface 224 is presented. In FIG. 2C, the search userinterface 224 includes a first set of reaction icons 228 and a secondset of reaction icons 230, as presented and described above withreference to FIG. 2B. However, in FIG. 2C, each reaction icon isassociated with a selectable user interface element to enable the userto indicate which reaction icon to include as a search parameter. InFIG. 2C, each of the sets of reaction icons are associated with userinterface elements 232(A) and 232(B) to enable the user to viewadditional or alternative reaction icons. In some examples, theadditional or alternative reaction icons that are presented and/or theorder in which the additional or alternative reaction icons arepresented can be different depending on which user interface element232(A) or 232(B) is selected by the user.

FIG. 2D illustrates an example of the user interface 200 wherein one ormore search results are presented via the user interface 200. In atleast one example, selected reaction icon(s) can be used as searchparameter(s). In FIG. 2D, the selected reaction icon is a heart. Theapplication 140 can send a search query associated with a searchparameter that corresponds to the selected reaction icon (e.g., theheart) to the server(s) 102. The search component 116 can perform asearch of the content data 129 to determine whether any content itemsare associated with the selected reaction icon (e.g., the heart). Basedat least in part on the search component 116 identifying one or morecontent items associated with the selected reaction icon (e.g., theheart), the search component 116 can send the one or more content itemsto the application 140 for presentation via the user interface 200. Inat least one example, such content items can comprise messages or otheractions associated with virtual spaces of the communication platform.The user interface 200 can be associated with user interface elements234, 236, and 238 that are representative of each of the content itemsassociated with the selected reaction icon. In at least one example,each of the user interface elements 234, 236, and 238 can be associatedwith an actuation mechanism that when actuated causes the correspondingmessage to be presented, in context (e.g., in the channel, directmessage, etc.), via the user interface 200.

FIGS. 1-2D make reference to “user interface elements.” A user interfaceelement can be any element of the user interface that is representativeof an object, message object, virtual space, and/or the like. A userinterface element can be a text element, a graphical element, a picture,a logo, a symbol, and/or the like. In some examples, a user interfaceelement can be presented as a pop-up, overlay, new sections of the userinterface 200, a new user interface, part of another user interfaceelement, and/or the like. In at least one example, individual of theuser interface elements can be associated with actuation mechanisms.Such actuation mechanisms can make the corresponding user interfaceelements selectable or otherwise interactable. That is, actuation of anactuation mechanism as described herein can, in some examples, indicatea selection of a corresponding user interface element. In at least oneexample, the application 140 can receive an indication of an interactionwith a user interface element (e.g., indication of a selection and/oractuation of an actuation mechanism) and can send an indication of suchto the server(s) 102. In some examples, the server(s) 102 can send dataand/or instructions to the application 140 to generate new userinterfaces and/or update the user interface 200, as described herein.

The example user interfaces and user interface elements described aboveare provided for illustrative purposes. In some examples, such userinterfaces and user interface elements can include additional oralternative data, which can be presented in additional or alternativeconfigurations. That is, the user interfaces and user interface elementsshould not be construed as limiting.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing example processes involvingtechniques as described herein. The processes illustrated in FIGS. 3 and4 are described with reference to components of the environment 100shown in FIG. 1 for convenience and ease of understanding. However, theprocesses illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 are not limited to beingperformed using the components described above with reference to theenvironment 100. Moreover, the components described above with referenceto the environment 100 are not limited to performing the processesillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 .

The processes in FIGS. 3 and 4 are illustrated as collections of blocksin logical flowcharts, which represent sequences of operations that canbe implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. In thecontext of software, the blocks represent computer-executableinstructions stored on one or more computer-readable storage media that,when executed by processor(s), perform the recited operations.Generally, computer-executable instructions include routines, programs,objects, components, message objects, and the like that performparticular functions or implement particular abstract data types. Theorder in which the operations are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks can becombined in any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes. Insome embodiments, one or more blocks of the process can be omittedentirely. Moreover, the processes in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be combined inwhole or in part with each other or with other processes.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process 300 for determining a set ofreaction icons that are selectable via a user interface to initiate asearch of content exchanged via a communication platform, as describedherein.

At operation 302, the server(s) 102 can receive content exchanged via acommunication platform, wherein the content is associated withinteraction data. As described above, users associated with thecommunication platform can exchange data via one or more virtual spaces,such as channels (e.g., managed by the channel management component118), direct messages (e.g., managed by the direct message managementcomponent 119), and/or other virtual spaces. In some examples, such datacan comprise “content,” which can be associated with messages. Asdescribed above, a “message,” as used herein, can refer to anyelectronically generated digital object provided by a user of thecommunication platform. A message can be configured for presentationwithin a channel, a direct message, and/or another virtual space asdescribed herein. In at least one example, a message can be associatedwith message content, which can include text data, image data, videodata, audio data, file(s), etc. In some examples, one or more users ofthe communication platform can interact with a message, for example, byassociating a reaction icon (e.g., an emoji, a reactji, or the like)with the message. In some examples, one or more users of thecommunication platform can interact with a message by replying to themessage. In some examples, a reply can be posted to a feed associatedwith a channel, direct message, or other virtual space. In otherexamples, a reply can comprise a new message in a “thread.” A thread canbe a message associated with another message that is not posted to achannel, direct message, or other virtual space, but instead ismaintained within an object associated with the original message.Messages and associated reactions (e.g., reaction icon(s) and/orreply(s)) can be stored in a datastore of the communication platform as“content” of the communication platform.

In at least one example, the content can be associated with interactiondata, which can indicate whether a user interacted with a content item,for example, via associating a reaction icon therewith, sending a reply,and/or the like. In some examples, the search component 116 candetermine metrics based at least in part on interaction data associatedwith the content. Such metrics can indicate frequency of interactionwith individual reaction icons, recency of interaction with individualreaction icons, a number of interactions with individual reaction icons,and/or the like. As described above, “frequency of interaction” canrefer to a rate at which a user or group of users interacts with areaction icon within a period of time. Further, “recency of interaction”can refer to an interaction occurring within a period of timecomparatively close to a present time.

At operation 304, the server(s) 102 can store the content in a databaseassociated with the communication platform. In at least one example, thedatabase can comprise the content data 129, which can be associated withthe datastore 122 of FIG. 1 . In at least one example, content data 129can comprise content posted to channels, direct messages, meetings, etc.Content data 129 can include text content, audio content, visual content(e.g., image content and/or video content), combinations of theforegoing, etc. In at least one example, content stored in the contentdata 129 can be associated with a creator identifier (e.g., a user whocreated the content), a thread identifier (e.g., which thread thecontent is associated with), a message identifier (e.g., which messagethe content is associated with), a virtual space identifier (e.g.,virtual space(s) with which the content is associated with and/oraccessible by), etc. Interactions associated with content can also bestored in association with the content in the content data 129. That is,interaction data indicating replies, reaction icons (e.g., emoji(s),reactji(s), etc.), etc. associated with individual content can be storedin association with the content. In some examples, content can be mappedto, or otherwise associated with, individual users, messages, meetings,channels, direct messages, and/or the like.

At operation 306, the search component 116 can determine a set ofreaction icons based at least in part on the interaction data. In atleast one example, the search component 116 can determine set(s) ofreaction icons to present via a user interface to enable a user tosearch by reaction icon(s). As described above, a set of reaction iconscan comprise one or more reaction icons. Further, as described above, aset of reaction icons can include one or more emojis, reactjis, or thelike. Set(s) of reaction icons can be determined based at least in parton interaction data, from which frequency of interaction with individualreaction icons, recency of interaction with individual reaction icons, anumber of times a particular reaction icon has been interacted with(e.g., a count), and/or the like can be determined. In at least oneexample, the search component 116 can access the reaction icon(s) 130 inthe datastore 122. As described above, the reaction icon(s) 130 can beassociated with interaction data and/or metrics determined therefrom,which can be used by the search component 116 to determine set(s) ofreaction icons.

In some examples, a set of reactions icons can be particular to a user,a group of users, or the communication platform, generally. That is, inat least one example, a set of reaction icons can be determined based atleast in part on interaction data associated with a user and thus can beparticular to the user. In such an example, the set of reaction iconscan include one or more reaction icons that the user most frequentlyinteracts with, most recently interacted with, has interacted with thehighest number of times, etc. In some examples, such metrics (e.g.,frequency, recency, count, etc.) can be used to determine a relevancemetric. The search component 116 can rank reaction icons based at leastin part on relevance metrics and can associate one or more reactionicons with the set based at least in part on the ranking. In someexamples, the relevance metric can be determined using a machine-trainedmodel. Such a machine-trained model can be trained using a machinelearning mechanism (e.g., supervised, unsupervised, semi-supervised,deep, etc.) on training data which can include reaction icons,interaction data, and search queries associated with selected reactionicons. The machine-trained model can receive new interaction data andcan output relevance metrics associated with reaction icons, which canbe used for generating a set of reaction icons, as described above.

In some examples, a set of reaction icons can be determined based atleast in part on interaction data associated with a group of users. Insuch examples, the set of reaction icons can be particular to the groupof users. In some examples, the group of users can be associated with asame group identifier (and thus the same workspace and/or organization)as the user, share one or more characteristics with the user (e.g., samerole, same geographic area, same age, same preference, etc.), asimilarity metric that satisfies a threshold, and/or the like. In atleast one example, the set of reaction icons can include one or morereaction icons that users associated with the group of users mostfrequently interact with, most recently interacted with, have interactedwith the highest number of times, etc. In some examples, such metrics(e.g., frequency, recency, count, etc.) can be used to determine arelevance metric. The search component 116 can rank reaction icons basedat least in part on relevance metrics and can associate one or morereaction icons with the set based at least in part on the ranking.

In some examples, a set of reaction icons can be determined based atleast in part on interaction data associated with the communicationplatform, and thus can be representative of all users of thecommunication platform. In such examples, the set of reaction icons caninclude one or more reaction icons that users associated with thecommunication platform most frequently interact with, most recentlyinteracted with, have interacted with the highest number of times, etc.In some examples, such metrics (e.g., frequency, recency, count, etc.)can be used to determine a relevance metric. The search component 116can rank reaction icons based at least in part on relevance metrics andcan associate one or more reaction icons with the set based at least inpart on the ranking.

At operation 308, the search component 116 can cause presentation of atleast the set of reaction icons via a user interface of thecommunication platform. In at least one example, the search component116 can cause presentation of at least one set of reaction icons via auser interface of the communication platform. In at least one example,the set(s) of reaction icons can be presented in association with asearch user interface that can be presented in response to aninteraction with a search mechanism presented via the user interface. Anexample of such a search user interface is provided above with referenceto FIGS. 2B and 2C.

At operation 310, the search component 116 can determine whether aselection of at least one reaction icon is received. In at least oneexample, each of the reaction icons associated with the set of reactionicons can be associated with an actuation mechanism or other selectionmechanism such that interaction with the actuation mechanism or otherselection mechanism can indicate that a particular reaction icon hasbeen selected. That is, in at least one example, the application 140 candetect an input associated with a reaction icon and can associate theselected reaction icon with a search query as a search parameter. Theapplication 140 can send the search query to the server(s) 102 toinitiate a search. In at least one example, the search component 116 candetermine that a selection of at least one reaction icon is receivedbased at least in part on receiving the search query associated with theselected reaction icon(s). In at least one example, the selectedreaction icon(s) can comprise search parameter(s) for conducting thesearch.

If a selection is not received, the search component 116 can wait untila selection is received, as illustrated by the arrow returning tooperation 310. In some examples, a selection may not be received withina period of time and/or before the user navigates away from the searchuser interface. In some examples, if a selection is not received, and aperiod of time has lapsed and/or the user navigates away from the searchuser interface, the process 300 can return to operation 302, asillustrated by the dashed arrow returning to operation 302.

At operation 312, based at least in part on a selection of at least onereaction icon being received (i.e., “yes” at operation 312), the searchcomponent 116 can initiate a search based at least in part on theselected reaction icon(s), wherein the selected reaction icon(s) aresearch parameter(s) for the search.

At operation 314, the search component 116 can determine whether contentassociated with the selected reaction icon(s) are stored in thedatabase. In at least one example, selected reaction icon(s) can be usedas search parameter(s). The application 140 can send a search queryassociated with a search parameter that corresponds to the selectedreaction icon to the server(s) 102. The search component 116 can performa search of the content data 129 to determine whether any content itemsare associated with the selected reaction icon(s). That is, the searchcomponent 116 can analyze content stored in the content data 129 todetermine whether any of the content is associated with the selectedreaction icon(s). In some examples, the selected reaction icon can beassociated with message content, a reaction, a reply, and/or the like.

At operation 316, based at least in part on determining that contentassociated with the selected reaction icon(s) is stored in the database(i.e., “yes” at operation 314), the search component 116 can return asearch result based at least in part on the identified content that isassociated with the selection reaction icon(s). Based at least in parton the search component 116 identifying one or more content itemsassociated with the selected reaction icon, the search component 116 cansend the one or more content items to the application 140 forpresentation via a user interface of the communication platform. In atleast one example, such content items can comprise messages or otheractions associated with virtual spaces of the communication platform. Inat least one example, the user interface can include one or more userinterface elements representative of each of the search results. In atleast one example, each user interface element can be associated with anactuation mechanism that when actuated causes the corresponding contentitem to be presented, in context (e.g., in the channel, direct message,etc.), via the user interface. An example of a user interface presentingsearch results associated with selected reaction icon(s) is illustratedabove with reference to FIG. 2D.

At operation 318, based at least in part on determining that there isn'tcontent associated with the selected reaction icon(s) stored in thedatabase (i.e., “no” at operation 314), the search component 116 canreturn an indication that no content is associated with the selectedreaction icon(s).

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 for determining a set ofreaction icons based at least in part on interaction data associatedwith content exchanged via a communication platform, as describedherein.

At operation 402, the server(s) 102 can receive content exchanged via acommunication platform, wherein the content is associated withinteraction data, as described above with reference to operation 302 ofFIG. 3 .

At operation 404, the search component 116 can determine a frequency ofinteraction with individual reaction icons associated with thecommunication platform. In at least one example, a “frequency ofinteraction” can refer to a rate at which a user or group of usersinteracts with a reaction icon within a period of time. In at least oneexample, the search component 116 can analyze interaction data todetermine a rate at which a user or group of users interacts withindividual reaction icons. In some examples, such a metric (e.g.,frequency of interaction) can be associated with individual reactionicons.

At operation 406, the search component 116 can determine a recency ofinteraction with individual reaction icons associated with thecommunication platform. In at least one example, a “recency ofinteraction” can refer to an interaction occurring within a period oftime comparatively close to a present time. In at least one example, thesearch component 116 can analyze interaction data to determine timingassociated with interactions with individual reaction icons and candetermine recency based on such timing. In some examples, such a metric(e.g., recency of interaction) can be associated with individualreaction icons.

At operation 408, the search component 116 can determine a set ofreaction icons based at least in part on at least one of the frequencyof interaction or the recency of interaction with the individualreaction icons. Additional details associated with determining set(s) ofreaction icons are described above with reference to operation 306 ofFIG. 3 .

Techniques described herein, with reference to FIGS. 1-4 , can behelpful for easily retrieving content associated with the communicationplatform. As described above, in an example, a user can desire to recalla message posted to a channel where other users reacted with aparticular reaction icon (e.g., a dancing chicken reactji). In existingtechniques a user can search via a term, a user, a date, a virtualspace, or the like, but the user may not recall a term, user, date,virtual space, or the like associated with the message. The user mayrecall how people reacted (e.g., using a dancing chicken reactji). Insome existing techniques, if a user knows how a particular reaction iconis named or defined, the user could input the name or definition of theparticular reaction icon (e.g., :dancing chicken:) into the searchaffordance. However, if a user does not know how a particular reactionicon is named or defined, the user may be left without a mechanism toretrieve the content. As such, techniques described herein offer animprovement to existing search technology.

As described above, techniques described herein utilize interaction dataassociated with content exchanged via the communication platform todetermine set(s) of reaction icons that are relevant to a particularuser. As described above, at least one set of reaction icons can bedetermined based at least in part on frequency and/or recency ofinteraction with particular reaction icons, for example, by the user ora group of users with which the user may be similar to or otherwiserelated. As such, the communication platform can cause set(s) ofreaction icons to be presented via a user interface, that are in someexamples relevant or otherwise personalized for a user, to enable theuser to select or otherwise set search parameters for a search.

Techniques described herein offer improvements over existing searchtechnologies by improving user interfaces used to facilitate searches,reducing the number of interactions required to retrieve content, and/orstreamlining user interaction with user interfaces. That is, bypresenting an affordance for a user to designate search parameters viaan interaction with set(s) of reaction icons, techniques describedherein provide a more user-friendly mechanism to initiate a search. Asdescribed herein, the set(s) of reaction icons can be determined to berelevant to a particular user and thus can narrow, at least initially,the search parameters presented for the user for selection. Further, bypresenting an affordance for a user to designate search parameters viaan interaction with set(s) of reaction icons, techniques describedherein eliminate the need for a user to recall a term, user, virtualspace, date, reaction icon name and/or definition, and/or the like. Assuch, search queries can be more accurate and/or precise, therebyreducing the number of interactions required to retrieve content via asearch. This can conserve bandwidth and computing resources. Moreover,by determining and/or presenting relevant information, users need notnavigate through various search parameter possibilities and searchresults can be more accurate and/or precise (due to search queries beingmore accurate and/or precise). As such, techniques described hereinoffer improvements over conventional search technologies.

CONCLUSION

While one or more examples of the techniques described herein have beendescribed, various alterations, additions, permutations and equivalentsthereof are included within the scope of the techniques describedherein.

In the description of examples, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings that form a part hereof, which show by way of illustrationspecific examples of the claimed subject matter. It is to be understoodthat other examples can be used and that changes or alterations, such asstructural changes, can be made. Such examples, changes or alterationsare not necessarily departures from the scope with respect to theintended claimed subject matter. While the steps herein can be presentedin a certain order, in some cases the ordering can be changed so thatcertain inputs are provided at different times or in a different orderwithout changing the function of the systems and methods described. Thedisclosed procedures could also be executed in different orders.Additionally, various computations that are herein need not be performedin the order disclosed, and other examples using alternative orderingsof the computations could be readily implemented. In addition to beingreordered, the computations could also be decomposed intosub-computations with the same results.

Example Clauses

A. A method, implemented by at least one computing device of acommunication platform, comprising: determining a set of reaction iconsbased at least in part on interaction data associated with content inthe communication platform; causing presentation of at least the set ofreaction icons via a user interface of the communication platform,wherein individual reaction icons associated with the set of reactionicons are selectable as search parameters in the user interface;receiving a selection of at least one reaction icon of the set ofreaction icons; and in response to receiving the selection of the atleast one reaction icon, initiating a search for content associated withthe selection of the at least one reaction icon stored in a databaseassociated with the communication platform.

B. The method of paragraph A, wherein the set of reaction icons is afirst set of reaction icons associated with a user of the communicationplatform.

C. The method of paragraph B, further comprising causing presentation ofa second set of reaction icons via the user interface, wherein thesecond set of reaction icons is associated with at least one differentuser of the communication platform.

D. The method of any of paragraphs A-C, further comprising: determining,based at least in part on the interaction data, recency of interactionswith individual reaction icons associated with the communicationplatform; and determining the set of reaction icons further based atleast in part on the recency of interactions determined for theindividual reaction icons.

E. The method of any of paragraphs A-D, further comprising: determining,based at least in part on the interaction data, frequencies ofinteractions with individual reaction icons associated with thecommunication platform; and determining the set of reaction iconsfurther based at least in part on the frequencies of interactionsdetermined for the individual reaction icons.

F. The method of any of paragraphs A-E, wherein the individual reactionicons are representative of at least one of an emoji or a reactji.

G. The method of any of paragraphs A-F, further comprising causing,based at least in part on initiating the search of the database, one ormore results to be presented via the user interface, wherein the one ormore results are associated with the at least one reaction icon.

H. A system comprising: one or more processors; and one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause the system to performoperations comprising: determining a set of reaction icons based atleast in part on interaction data associated with content in acommunication platform; causing presentation of at least the set ofreaction icons via a user interface of the communication platform,wherein individual reaction icons of the set of reaction icons areselectable as search parameters in the user interface; receiving aselection of at least one reaction icon of the set of reaction icons;and in response to receiving the selection of the at least one reactionicon, initiating a search for content associated with the selection ofthe at least one reaction icon stored in a database associated with thecommunication platform.

I. The system of paragraph H, wherein the set of reaction icons is afirst set of reaction icons associated with a user of the communicationplatform.

J. The system of paragraph I, the operations further comprising causingpresentation of a second set of reaction icons via the user interface,wherein the second set of reaction icons is associated with at least onedifferent user of the communication platform.

K. The system of any of paragraphs H-J, the operations furthercomprising: determining, based at least in part on the interaction data,recency of interactions with individual reaction icons associated withthe communication platform; and determining the set of reaction iconsfurther based at least in part on the recency of interactions determinedfor the individual reaction icons.

L. The system of any of paragraphs H-K, the operations furthercomprising: determining, based at least in part on the interaction data,frequencies of interactions with individual reaction icons associatedwith the communication platform; and determining the set of reactionicons further based at least in part on the frequencies of interactionsdetermined for the individual reaction icons.

M. The system of any of paragraphs H-L, wherein the individual reactionicons are representative of at least one of an emoji or a reactji.

N. The system of any of paragraphs H-M, the operations furthercomprising, causing, based at least in part on initiating the search ofthe database, one or more results to be presented via the userinterface, wherein the one or more results are associated with the atleast one reaction icon.

O. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause theone or more processors to perform operations comprising: determining aset of reaction icons based at least in part on interaction dataassociated with content in a communication platform; causingpresentation of at least the set of reaction icons via a user interfaceof the communication platform, wherein individual reaction icons of theset of reaction icons are selectable as search parameters in the userinterface; receiving a selection of at least one reaction icon of theset of reaction icons; and in response to receiving the selection of theat least one reaction icon, initiating a search for content associatedwith the selection of the at least one reaction icon stored in adatabase associated with the communication platform.

P. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of paragraphO, wherein the set of reaction icons is a first set of reaction iconsassociated with a user of the communication platform.

Q. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of paragraphP, the operations further comprising causing presentation of a secondset of reaction icons via the user interface, wherein the second set ofreaction icons is associated with at least one different user of thecommunication platform.

R. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of any ofparagraphs O-Q, the operations further comprising: determining, based atleast in part on the interaction data, recency of interactions withindividual reaction icons associated with the communication platform;and determining the set of reaction icons further based at least in parton the recency of interactions determined for the individual reactionicons.

S. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of any ofparagraphs O-R, the operations further comprising: determining, based atleast in part on the interaction data, frequencies of interactions withindividual reaction icons associated with the communication platform;and determining the set of reaction icons further based at least in parton the frequencies of interactions determined for the individualreaction icons.

T. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of any ofparagraphs O-S, wherein the individual reaction icons are representativeof at least one of an emoji or a reactji.

While the paragraphs above are described with respect to one particularimplementation, it should be understood that, in the context of thisdocument, the content of the paragraphs above can also be implementedvia a method, device, system, a computer-readable medium, and/or anotherimplementation. Additionally, any of paragraphs A-T may be implementedalone or in combination with any other one or more of the paragraphsA-T.

1. A method, implemented by at least one computing device of acommunication platform, comprising: determining a set of reaction iconsbased at least in part on interaction data associated with content inthe communication platform; causing presentation of at least the set ofreaction icons via a user interface of the communication platform,wherein individual reaction icons associated with the set of reactionicons are selectable as search parameters in the user interface;receiving a selection of at least one reaction icon of the set ofreaction icons; and in response to receiving the selection of the atleast one reaction icon, initiating a search for content associated withthe selection of the at least one reaction icon stored in a databaseassociated with the communication platform.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the set of reaction icons is a first set of reaction iconsassociated with a user of the communication platform.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, further comprising causing presentation of a second set ofreaction icons via the user interface, wherein the second set ofreaction icons is associated with at least one different user of thecommunication platform.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, based at least in part on the interaction data, recency ofinteractions with individual reaction icons associated with thecommunication platform; and determining the set of reaction iconsfurther based at least in part on the recency of interactions determinedfor the individual reaction icons.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining, based at least in part on the interaction data,frequencies of interactions with individual reaction icons associatedwith the communication platform; and determining the set of reactionicons further based at least in part on the frequencies of interactionsdetermined for the individual reaction icons.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the individual reaction icons are representative of at least oneof an emoji or a reactji.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisingcausing, based at least in part on initiating the search of thedatabase, one or more results to be presented via the user interface,wherein the one or more results are associated with the at least onereaction icon.
 8. A system comprising: one or more processors; and oneor more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system toperform operations comprising: determining a set of reaction icons basedat least in part on interaction data associated with content in acommunication platform; causing presentation of at least the set ofreaction icons via a user interface of the communication platform,wherein individual reaction icons of the set of reaction icons areselectable as search parameters in the user interface; receiving aselection of at least one reaction icon of the set of reaction icons;and in response to receiving the selection of the at least one reactionicon, initiating a search for content associated with the selection ofthe at least one reaction icon stored in a database associated with thecommunication platform.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the set ofreaction icons is a first set of reaction icons associated with a userof the communication platform.
 10. The system of claim 9, the operationsfurther comprising causing presentation of a second set of reactionicons via the user interface, wherein the second set of reaction iconsis associated with at least one different user of the communicationplatform.
 11. The system of claim 8, the operations further comprising:determining, based at least in part on the interaction data, recency ofinteractions with individual reaction icons associated with thecommunication platform; and determining the set of reaction iconsfurther based at least in part on the recency of interactions determinedfor the individual reaction icons.
 12. The system of claim 8, theoperations further comprising: determining, based at least in part onthe interaction data, frequencies of interactions with individualreaction icons associated with the communication platform; anddetermining the set of reaction icons further based at least in part onthe frequencies of interactions determined for the individual reactionicons.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein the individual reaction iconsare representative of at least one of an emoji or a reactji.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, the operations further comprising, causing, based atleast in part on initiating the search of the database, one or moreresults to be presented via the user interface, wherein the one or moreresults are associated with the at least one reaction icon.
 15. One ormore non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that,when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to perform operations comprising: determining a set ofreaction icons based at least in part on interaction data associatedwith content in a communication platform; causing presentation of atleast the set of reaction icons via a user interface of thecommunication platform, wherein individual reaction icons of the set ofreaction icons are selectable as search parameters in the userinterface; receiving a selection of at least one reaction icon of theset of reaction icons; and in response to receiving the selection of theat least one reaction icon, initiating a search for content associatedwith the selection of the at least one reaction icon stored in adatabase associated with the communication platform.
 16. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein the set ofreaction icons is a first set of reaction icons associated with a userof the communication platform.
 17. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 16, the operations further comprisingcausing presentation of a second set of reaction icons via the userinterface, wherein the second set of reaction icons is associated withat least one different user of the communication platform.
 18. The oneor more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, theoperations further comprising: determining, based at least in part onthe interaction data, recency of interactions with individual reactionicons associated with the communication platform; and determining theset of reaction icons further based at least in part on the recency ofinteractions determined for the individual reaction icons.
 19. The oneor more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 15, theoperations further comprising: determining, based at least in part onthe interaction data, frequencies of interactions with individualreaction icons associated with the communication platform; anddetermining the set of reaction icons further based at least in part onthe frequencies of interactions determined for the individual reactionicons.
 20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 15, wherein the individual reaction icons are representative of atleast one of an emoji or a reactji.